I'm having a hard time believing this one... a Massachusetts man was diving for lobster off the coast of Cape Cod on Friday, when he claims he was nearly swallowed by a humpback whale! Michael Packard claims he was inside the mouth of a humpback, and his partner Josaiah Mayo says he witnessed the incident. Mayo said he was concerned that it was a white shark at first, but once he got a better look, he says his friend was in the mouth of a whale.
Humpbacks are baleen whales; they gulp large amounts of sea water into their mouths, and use filters (called baleen) to filter out krill and small fish for their food. Humpbacks don't hunt, and they aren't known to pursue or attack humans. Packard believes the whale nearly swallowed him by accident, and spat him out once it realized that Packard wasn't a desired food source.
I don't want to call Mr Packard a liar, but the whole story seems SO unbelievable! And many marine experts are doubtful. So I'm reserving judgment on this one for the time being. But if it *is* true, WHAT A STORY!
Photo: Getty Images